Update January 2024
The consortium pushing the LWoSS proposal issued an end of year report in December 2023. The whole proposal is still very much at the ideas stage and if it goes forward it will need to go through a full planning process which will include consultation. SSAG will continue to attend meetings and will insist that the inter-village gap between Sapcote and Stoney Stanton is maintained, and will also insist that appropriate supporting infrastructure is provided which doesn’t destroy the nature of our village if the proposal moves forward.
The SSAG attended the Visioning Exercise (Workshop) hosted by The Pegasus Group, and led by planning consultants from various disciplines. The event was also attended by representatives from the three main land owners, Barwood Land, Parker Strategic Land, and Leicestershire County Council (A list of land promoters and consultants can be found below).
The development proposal can be viewed here Land West of Stoney Stanton.
Supplementary slides (from the workshop) and subsequent meetings are available to view here:
Dom Scott of Barton Wilmore was leading the workshop and emphasised that it was unusual to be asked to run and engage this type of event so early in the overall process. There was also commentary with regard how the development fits into the Blaby Local Plan process (Slide 6). One key element is the Statement of Intent due in March/April 2022, which will determine how many houses are needed in the district.
The proposed development land covers the three parishes of Elmesthorpe (to the north), Stoney Stanton, and Sapcote (to the south) (Slide 9)
Any development proposal will look to honour local quarrying history and the railways used in that process (Slide 13)
There are some structural considerations that need to be catered too, including a Foul Sewer, which runs (and follows) closely to the B581 between Stanton and Elmesthorpe and the electricity pylons which run from the northeast of Stanton down to the southeast of the proposed development site.(Slide 16)
Two important statements were made in respect of this development’s interaction with the proposed HNRFI:
- Plans will development both assuming HNRFI does and doesn’t receive approval
- If HNRFI doesn’t receive approval, the proposal will include a south-facing slip road at jct 2 of the M69.
Some slides were shown which demonstrated the framework on which the proposal will based, from a design perspective (Slides 19 – 23)
Slides 32 – 42 show a progressive build-up of initial ideas, with considerations, which were run through very quickly. The main takeaway is that, instead of one big settlement, we may end up with 5 separate settlements on the land which is very connected and provides services expected of a development of the size proposed. It’s important to note that this is not (and is no-where near) the final proposal, and nothing is determined at this stage.
Attendees were then split into four groups, and engaged in 30-minute discussions with specialist planners in the areas outlined in slides 24 – 31. The discussions were specialist led, but predominantly provided by the participants. Large points of topic included flooding issues born from previous developments and the effects of developments on the water table, the current immediate need for infrastructure in the existing settlements without the additional homes this proposal brings (i.e. any new development would have to deliver infrastructure along with new houses from the very start), the proposed new secondary school, the changing nature of working locations, the reasons why people who live in the current settlements live here, the risks of building to a plan but having knock-on developments after, the need to protect existing businesses, the current impact of traffic on the existing settlements, and generally how most people would just rather it remain farmland.
The planning consultants were keen to point benefits of what the plans could make provisions for, including:
- Slowing surface water in case of further flooding due to developments or climate change, possibly using meadows and wetlands
- Services which provide the right scale for the development and offer benefits to the wider area – but the need for employment are to be assessed.
- Link roads from Calor, diverting away from Stoney Stanton (possibly including weight restrictions through the village)
- Improved pedestrian and cycle links between the villages
- Future proofed streets
Consultants agreed communications need to improve as follow-up dialogue with the Parish Councils following earlier presentations were not provided as promised.
It was agreed that hard copies of the slides were to be made available in the library. All those who registered for the visioning workshop (regardless of attendance) should have received an email with the slides for the visioning workshop.
As it stands, there is nothing to object to or support, so the SSAG will keep up to date with the proposals as they develop, along with the BDC Local Plan, and keep you updated via the website and social media
Land Promoters:
Sam Wilkinson – Barwood Land
Andrew Winnington – Leicestershire County Council
Adrian Lott – Parker Strategic Land
Emma Mitchell – Parker Strategic Land
Tom Collins – Mather Jamie (on behalf of Parker Strategic Land)
Sam Tyler – Mather Jamie (on behalf of Parker Strategic Land)
Consultant Team:
| Dom Scott | Masterplanning | Barton Willmore |
| Simone Gobber | Masterplanning | Barton Willmore |
| Simon Wise | Masterplanning | Barton Willmore |
| Allison Caldwell | Flooding and Drainage | PJA Consulting |
| Dave Woolley | Noise, Ground Conditions, Utilities, Flooding | PJA Consulting |
| Brian Plumb | Transport | RPS Consulting |
| Wendy Lancaster | Landscape | Tyler Grange |
| Milly Robinson | Ecology | Tyler Grange |
| Keith Fenwick | Planning | Pegasus Group |
| Sarah Butterfield | Planning | Pegasus Group |
| Nina Stanford | Planning | Pegasus Group |